Natural Laundry Soap (no shredding)

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Mike...I know I pm'd you back when you posted this.

I don't like to use lard and I know CO is suppose to be

so cleansing. Would that be a good substitute or should

I just use Palm or Crisco(vegetable shortening).

TIA, Laurie

Not Mike - but CO is fine. Probably better than the other options you list. We like lard cause it's cheap.

Thanks Carebear!!!

carebear said:

Not Mike - but CO is fine. Probably better than the other options you list. We like lard cause it's cheap.

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Yup! That's EXACTLY why I use lard....and ITA about the CO being your best substitute.

You might want to stick blend rather than stir or whisk with the CO....it will make for a smoother product.....and don't forget to run the recipe through a lye calculator for the CO....it has a different SAP than the lard!

I made some of this and it is fantastic!! I only made a half batch, but I wish I made a bigger batch now. It works really really well.
BTW I used coconut in mine, not lard. Thanks Mike for posting this recipe.

ChrissyB said:

I made some of this and it is fantastic!! I only made a half batch, but I wish I made a bigger batch now. It works really really well.
BTW I used coconut in mine, not lard. Thanks Mike for posting this recipe.

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I'm really glad you liked it!

I like it too.....it's a recipe makeover. I found one on the Internet that was exceptionally lye heavy with dangerous ingredients. I decided to try their procedure with safer chemicals and came up with this.

ok, I am imperial weight challenged...

a 1 Gallon Container - is that US Liquid Gallon or dry Gallon ?

If it is liquid gallon, this is 3.78l. I don't have a container that size, will a garden bucket do ? ( these are 10 litres or 2.64 UL Liquid Gallons) and then fill it up to 3.75l ?

There is one thing I don't understand in your recipe:

People with hard water will want to have it softened with borax or washing soda before adding soap.

I have hard water. Your recipe contains Borax already. Is that enough or do I need to up that a bit ?

Cheers
Sabine

Bump ?

Bump!

Anyone try this with tap water?

I tried Tap water, but mine wasn't good, not sure if it was the water, but mine was very thin and kept separating.

To be honest, in the UK even cheap washing powder is very good, so I don't think I will be trying this again

madpiano said:

I tried Tap water, but mine wasn't good, not sure if it was the water, but mine was very thin and kept separating.

To be honest, in the UK even cheap washing powder is very good, so I don't think I will be trying this again

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yeah.I decided that for the dollar it'd cost to use distilled I was being ultra stingy. Started mine yesterday,so can't say yet whether I'll love it or hate it.
I generally use frag./phosphate free green wp,which isnt cheap,so really hoping this works out!
Tried KOH liquid soap for laundry,what a pita.Not again!

Gekko, I still use this.
Every week or so I run an empty cycle on my washing machine with some vinegar, apparently the soap can leave a scum in the washer, I haven't found that, but like I said I use the vinegar.
This wash liquid does work, but for really greasy (DH rides motorbikes) clothes, I use half the usual amount of washing powder, and then some of this on top.

Mine set up after 24hrs.Looks like a huge tub of yoghurt. But it's not gel,bit more solid than that....weathers been cool,but if yours in Newcastle is gel Chrissy,that cant be why....same thing happened with the KOH laundry soap I did,& I think it's the washing soda.I have the powdered type,not the crystals & even tho it says sodium carbonate,I'm not convinced.It's white where the crystal form is clear.
But the soap works just fine.I SB'd mine 5-6 times in the 1st 24hrs & its smooth as.Scoop it up in a cup & dissolve in a little hw--perfect

Here is the coconut/metric version I did.....

500g Coconut oil
2 Litres cold water
92g NAOH
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
1.25L hot water
20ml orange 5x eo
5ml lemongrass eo

Follow mikes instructions.Will need SBing to break up the lumps.When it's starts to thicken,I found starting just under the surface & working down slowly worked best,doing in several spots around bucket til e'things smooth.It looks like a big tub of natural set yoghurt!
I used a 5L bucket with lid,availlable from hardware stores for around 4 bucks
Hope this is helpful

NB: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR PROTECTIVE GEAR ON FOR THIS.THE POTENTIAL FOR SPLASHES IS MUCH GREATER THAN WITH REGULAR CP

ETA: Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou mikeinpdx for posting this technique.This formula is SO EASY & the soap is wonderful

Good for you Gekko, glad you are having success with it.
The price of laundry powder at the moment is outrageous, they are charging twice as much for half the product.

Well....after making it for more than a year and trying it with various oils, I am still happy with it. Here's what I've found on the oils.

Lard, coconut, and crisco make the easiest soap to scoop. Palm makes more of an old fashioned soft soap. All work fine. Soybean stays liquid and separates, although I used it up for handwashing dishes and it worked fine. Canola is a disaster.

I've played with various fragrance oils too. Personally, I like the Saveonscents lemon, squeaky clean, and Downy April Fresh the best, in that order.

I also made a batch with a failed kerosene soap experiment......whoa! Don't do that.....the clothes smell like a petroleum refinery. <GACK!>

Mike I'm glad you said you did that first, because I was probably going to give it a try!

yep,thanks mike.I was thinking canola,-Ive a ton of it & have decided with all the dos talk & our very hot humid summers I dont wanna risk it in my cp anymore..ah well... loving the coconut anyways

can i put this into an empty laundry soap container and shake instead of whisking?

krissy said:

can i put this into an empty laundry soap container and shake instead of whisking?

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You can with the soft oils....but I think it works better with the lard.